Two daughters
by Crina
Summary: Percy draws his daughter's future full of rainbows and bright colours and happiness. Percy and his daughters, Molly and Lucy.
1. Molly

**A/N:** Response to LupinTonksLove's Father-Daughter Challenge. This will be a two-shot, next chapter being more about Percy and Lucy's relationship.

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_I Molly_

She is their first child, his and Audrey's, a smiling little thing with soft red hair. A miracle. Molly Catherine Weasley, what a beautiful and easy baby. She makes her parents proud every day by learning something new. In her brown eyes Percy sees tomorrow.

Percy walks his head in the clouds for months, draws his daughter's future full of rainbows and bright colours and happiness. Their daughter must never feel anything else than happiness. Tomorrow will be such a wonderful place, he will make sure of it. For Molly's sake.

"I love you, baby girl. Dad loves you... Never forget that."

His baby smiles.

She can't stay as a baby forever, Percy knows it. He watches how Molly starts to crawl – he feels a stab of pride when he sees her standing on her own for the first time – and glee when she says her first word, which happens a week before Bill and Fleur's Dominique says _hers_ – and Dominique is two months older than Molly!

When it's time for their little Lucy to arrive to the world, Molly is three-year-old, lovely little girl with long red curls. She is a protective sister from the start. She tickles the new baby's belly, follows the little one everywhere, guards Lucy's first steps, teaches her little sister to say her name.

Molly is Daddy's girl through and through. When he comes from work she is waiting for him, runs to him, takes a good hold of his leg and starts to tell about her day – and always tells how much she missed Percy that day. Every night after Audrey has read a bedtime story to the girls Percy tucks them in and kisses their little round cheeks.

"Goodnight Lucy. Goodnight, Molly. Sleep well. I love you both, girls", he says.

And every time Molly chirps back her answer. "I love you too, Daddy!"

Years pass and Percy starts to worry. Soon Molly will have to go to Hogwarts and what will happen then? What if she comes back _changed_ and he will lose her? What if... What if Molly will think she is too old to spend time with her father?

The weight of the world is on Percy's shoulders when he hugs his older daughter and sends her to school. He knows she will have fun there – she will make lots of friends – she will be the brightest child in her class. No, Percy doesn't doubt at all his daughter won't be enjoying herself. It's he himself he is worried of.

But Molly writes long and cheerful letters to them, telling about her new friends and everyday life in Ravenclaw. And finally she comes home again to spend the Christmas holidays. She hasn't changed, Percy notices as she runs to them at the station. Molly is still _their_ Molly.

During the following four years Percy slowly starts to suspect something is wrong in the familiar picture. Before Molly started school there was no gap between them. Now that she is gone for months the gap forms and slowly grows. Maybe it's natural, but Percy doesn't care. There is already a gap between him and Lucy – he doesn't want one (no matter how small it might be) between him and his Molly too.

One September morning their family is on the King's Cross again, the two daughters saying goodbyes to their parents. Molly will soon be sixteen and thinks she's too old for fairy tales and bright colours. She is a tall and pretty girl, everything Percy always knew she would be.

Lucy's hands are cold but Molly hugs Percy like she always does.

"I'll write you soon", she says and her mind is already somewhere else, thinking her friends and lessons and clothes and homework.

"Remember to behave", Percy says to both of his daughters, though mostly to Lucy. "I love you both, girls."

Lucy stares at her shoes intently, hair covering her eyes, Molly looks quickly around them as if to make sure no one is listening.

"Ew, you did _not _just say that!" she giggles and slips away just like that.

Faintly Percy wonders why the world hasn't ended yet. How the sun can shine so brightly and people speak so happily when Molly has gone away with those words, that giggle?

He suspected something like this would happen someday. He isn't anymore the one Molly comes to tell her problems – honestly, he hasn't been that person for a long time – and now his love is rejected too.

He can't draw rainbows for her anymore. She doesn't need them – she doesn't need _him_.

He is useless.


	2. Lucy

_II Lucy_

It's cold and grey November morning when Percy sees his younger daughter for the first time. She is small and pink and helpless and screaming. Percy knows that others in the room – the midwife, the flustered midwife-to-be, or even Audrey – can't hear what he hears. Lucy isn't really crying. She is calling him, her father.

"Daddy", she cries desperately, "Daddy, please help me!"

Percy steps closer and touches the baby's cheek. It's his job to help Lucy, always. He has failed so many times in so many things, but in this he will succeed.

From the beginning Lucy is a child full of energy and curiosity. She is always reaching for something and trying new things. She learns to run before she can even walk and if something is forbidden with no apparent reason, Lucy is the first one to go and try it. She falls from trees she was never allowed to climb to, and Percy wonders if there is ever going to be a day when he doesn't have to fear for Lucy's life.

As Lucy grows older, Percy starts to notice how large crowds affect on her. When the whole family is gathered together, Lucy shies away from her relatives and rather sits alone or with her sister or parents. Percy plaits her hair with inept fingers and thinks Lucy will someday fit in because she is pretty and intelligent and perfect.

When Molly goes to Hogwarts, Lucy is left alone. She sometimes plays with Louis or George's young sons, but other children or their games don't seem to interest her. During Molly's absence Lucy grows to be more independent, more reserved.

"I don't like it", Audrey says gravely and Percy agrees with his whole heart.

Three years after Molly receives her Hogwarts letter, Lucy gets hers. She smiles and reads her new school books, and on the station she jumps to the train with a smile on her face. Percy says goodbyes just as reluctantly as he did three years ago. When the train leaves, Molly laughs and Lucy waves at them, and Percy is afraid for her, his little baby who can't fit in the crowds like others do.

Lucy writes them a letter two days later, a letter in which she tells she has become a Hufflepuff. Percy and Audrey stare at each other, dumbfound, as Hufflepuff was never considered as a place where Lucy would end up.

It's hard to walk around in the empty house, and Percy starts counting days to girls' Christmas holidays. He misses them both, but especially he wants to see Lucy again. Her letters are long and grammatically accurate and her handwriting is very neat – but they really don't tell much about how she feels, does she have many friends, does she enjoy herself.

When the girls finally return home, Lucy isn't full of excitement. She doesn't babble stories to him and Audrey or her younger cousins. Instead she listens to Audrey's fairy tales (she still insists on reading those to their girls) with her eyes closed. In the chaos of the Burrows Lucy creeps to one corner and keeps on eye on all of them, watches and evaluates, and Percy fears for her again.

It isn't until the last night before the holiday ends, when Lucy climbs to his lap like a kitten, buries her face to his jumper and tells him about her new friend, favourite subjects and teachers. In the end of the speech she starts to cry and says she doesn't want to go to Hogswart anymore, no matter how much she likes Nate Smith and professor Winthrop. She falls asleep in the middle of a sentence and Percy carries his baby to bed.

Next morning Lucy goes, smiling again, no trace of her yesterday's cry on her face. In the station she introduces Nate and his parents, a tall blonde man and short pretty woman, to them. Lucy smiles and laughs and talks, but it still breaks Percy's heart to see her go. There are plenty of her cousins going Hogwarts, but he can't trust that they would take care of his little one, not after Christmas.

Molly kisses his cheek and assures she will keep an eye on Lucy, and it makes Percy feel slightly better.

They start getting letters soon after that. Lucy gets in trouble at times, cheeks to her professors, fights with other students and crosses the lines. Percy tries to reassure himself it's nothing too serious. Lucy doesn't do it out of malice – she isn't following the footsteps of George and Fred – she is just trying to survive alive.

Professor Winthrop, the Astronomy teacher, is the only professor who has something more to say about Lucy than just "She has potential, _but_...". He tells Lucy always behaves herself in his classes, is talented, helps others, does her homework well and deserves her good marks.

Time passes and Percy realises unwillingly that every time Lucy comes back home she seems just a bit more withdrawn than last time. Audrey hasn't read fairy tales for a long time, Percy remembers the cold November day years ago and knows he has failed again. Now, when Molly lives on her own apartment and spends all of her time with that terrible Wood boy and Lucy simply turns away, he has plenty of time to try to figure out what he did wrong.

It's one beautiful September morning, little over a year after Lucy's graduation, when Percy reads _the Daily Prophet_ and sees a short piece of news. A tragic accident has occurred and young and idealistic Nathanael Morgan Smith is dead.

Percy blinks and lets go of the paper, looks away and feels sorry for Nate's parents, the tall blond man and his pretty red-haired wife, who have lost their only child. And then he feels terrifying weight in his stomach.

_Lucy_.

He hurries to Lucy, of course he does. She lives on her own now, too, and Percy knocks sharply on her apartment's door. He waits few minutes, impatiently, and knocks again. This time Lucy opens the door.

She looks horrible. Her brown hair is a mess, her eyes are red and posture is drooping. His little Lucy – Lucy who isn't even twenty years old! – looks old and disappointed.

"I don't want to talk about it", she says, a defensive note in her voice.

Percy steps closer. "Lucy, dear –"

Lucy shakes her head violently. "No."

"Nate –"

When Lucy hears his name she shudders. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screams and then quickly turns her back at him, hiding her face.

Her shoulders tremble. She is crying. Percy steps in, closes the door behind him and waits.

"They say it was an accident", Lucy sobs after a while. She sounds like a scared five-year-old, not like her usual self. "But I know that he – that he – he did it on purpose. And I'm his friend! He never told anything – and I never asked – I should have noticed something was wrong with him!"

Percy remembers again the scrawny, screaming baby ("Daddy, please help me!") and compares her to this pale, crying girl. He touches her shoulder and wants to help his little, difficult daughter, wants to paint her future with beautiful colours.

Molly doesn't need his rainbows anymore – but Lucy does.


End file.
